Exclusive: The Way Magic: The Gathering's Avatar: The Last Airbender Expansion Revives 2 Fan-Favorite Tribal Mechanics
Magic: The Gathering players consistently enjoy tribal strategies — who hasn't built a zombie deck before? — while this upcoming ATLA crossover release brings back two popular mechanics which align perfectly with its setting.
Reappearing Tribe-Supporting Mechanics
The first mechanic, called "Ally," first debuted with the Zendikar and gives buffs each time additional permanents with this type come onto play.
Alternatively, "Shrine" represents another enchantment-based subtype that first appeared in Kamigawa. Although not exactly a creature tribe, Shrines also gain abilities when you controls additional Shrines on the battlefield.
A Return of Allies Mechanic
While Shrines have shown up occasionally across newer releases, Allies mechanic was much rarer — but that ends in ATLA, where the mechanic is central.
The protagonist Aang has to assemble numerous companions during his quest to bring back peace across the four nations, and there's no better method to show that in a Magic set.
Revealed Card Showcase
Following the first set reveal, here are a look of an Allies plus one Shrine card in the new Avatar: The Last Airbender set.
Teo: A Beloved Character
This character is one cherished minor character from Avatar: The Last Airbender, a young man from Earth Kingdom that resided at an Air Temple following his home was destroyed in a flood, an event that left him unable to walk.
Thanks to his dad's prowess with engineering, Teo can glide in the air using a flying device, even dares Aang to an aerial race.
The card Teo reproduces his fondness of the skies and the Earth Tribe's use on flying machines through letting the player draw and discard whenever you attack with a flying unit, and also pumping your team with counters at the same time.
The Temple Card: A Strong Shrine
Regarding Teo's home, this is represented in the card The Northern Air Temple, that reduces your opponent's life when coming into the battlefield, based on how many of Shrines you have.
It furthermore drains an additional life anytime a Shrine comes onto the field.
This looks like an impactful addition, given the card's cheap mana cost plus good ETB ability.
One major weakness for Shrine decks outside of EDH is that Shrines are typically legendary permanents, however Northern Air Temple can be great in combination with Sanctum of Stone Fangs, that drains all opponents at the beginning of your main phase.
A Timely Collaboration
At a time while crossover sets are garnering significant backlash by fans, an iconic franchise like Avatar: The Last Airbender can be exactly what MTG requires.
Spoiler season has begun, with the full set will be released on Nov. 21.